I
wrote a terrific recap of relevant football thoughts about last weekend’s games,
but my computer lost it and I was too lazy to reproduce it, so I published
nothing.

But
one of the points I would have made had I been able to publish is that I
thought the needle pointed to an 8-8 season for the Dallas Cowboys, up from
7-9, since Washington had lost its quarterback for the season, just before the
Redskins play Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.

Any
team who plays Dallas on Thanksgiving is already at a disadvantage, thanks to
Tex Schramm’s genius. The opponent has a short week before having to travel to
Dallas, leaving less time to prepare and practice for the game. Add in having
to bring a back-up quarterback to starting status, and the cards were stacked
badly against Washington in Dallas, a game I think Washington otherwise would
have won.

So,
the Cowboys won the game, though no one who saw it can rationally doubt that
the Redskins would have won if Alex Smith had been able to start at quarterback.

So,
I now see the Cowboys posting another mediocre 8-8 season and missing the
playoffs, again. I can see them beating Tampa Bay and New York Giants, but
that’s it for this season.

My
beloved Oklahoma Sooners beat West Virginia on the road rather more handily in
my view than the score suggested. This sets up a rematch with Texas in the Big
XII Championship game. If OU wins that one, far from a foregone conclusion, since
Texas has gotten better and our defense has gotten worse, we may or may not get
into the playoffs.

The
West Virginia game proved two things: OU’s defense is a flailing, failing
disaster. I have never seen a worse one on a Sooner team, and they seem to be
regressing each week. However, it must be said that, to their credit, they
actually scored two defensive touchdowns off West Virginia fumbles, and made an
important interception near the end of the game. But, they still stink on ice.

The
second thing proven is that it doesn’t matter how bad the defense is; OU can
outscore anybody. I hope the selection committee can figure that out.

I
watched the Michigan at Ohio State game. I figured it was the only game where
we were likely to get some help getting into the playoffs. I expected OSU to beat
Michigan, again, and they did, taking #4 Michigan out of the picture.

I
never expected USC to beat Notre Dame, and of course they didn’t. They gave ND
a strong tussle for a while, but lost the game due to their almost unimaginable
ineptitude, which has been on display all season. But at least USC, by giving
Notre Dame a close game, pointed out how overrated Notre Dame is, since USC is
truly terrible this year. Still, Notre Dame will get into the playoffs. They’re
always overrated and it doesn’t seem to matter to anybody.

So, this leaves only one team standing between OU and the playoffs, other than the aforementioned Texas Longhorns, and that’s Georgia. If OU wins out and Alabama beats Georgia, we should be in. Interestingly, however, if Georgia upsets Alabama, the top four teams might remain the same, with Alabama dropping only to #4, with the result the four current playoff teams will remain unchanged. We shall have to wait and see.